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• In December2005,  the magazine Justice Santé fromthe Council for Patients Protection published an article on hospital-acquired infections written by J. Besson, ADVINpresident.

• In March 2006, ADVIN members participated in a program devoted to hospital-acquired infections on Telequebec channel.

•  The professional magazine Info-Urgence from the Association of Quebec Emergency Nurses invited us to write an article introducing the subject of hospital acquired infections. It will appear in the June publication. Linda Lanthier, dietetician and a member on ADVIN Board, will also have an article on probiotics.

• J. Besson was invited to present the patients’point of view at two conferences organized by Insight Cie, in Montreal. The first, on May 15 and 16 will deal with “medical and hospital responsibilities” – the second one , in September 2006, with “hospital performance and classification based on quality criteria”. 
• We also are in contact with representatives  from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and its organisation called “Patients for Patients Safety” that works on the role that patients should play for their own safety and protection in relation to health care.
  

• Participation in all these events gives our association a good exposure that strengthens our credibility and allows us to promote our mission.

• On March 18 2006, ADVIN held its second annual General Assembly. The members of the Board were renewed according to our status.

The new Board is being composed of the following: Jacques Besson, président ; Claude Dumaine, vice-président ; Christine Besson, secretary ; Christian Sénéchal, treasurer ; Ronald de Vito, Elisabeth di Blasio, Solange Himelfarb, Linda Lanthier, Sophie Mongeon, regular members.

 

A motion was voted unanimously to be sent to the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Health, all Members of The National Assembly, Presidents of Health organisations or professional associations and Hospital Directors. The motion addresses the human, social and financial consequences of hospital-acquired infections and ADVIN recommendations.

 

ADVIN legal adviser, Me Jean-Pierre Ménard, spoke in advocacy of patients’ rights.

Dr Pierre-Jean Maziade, microbiologist at Le Gardeur Hospital, presented the excellent results of the study done at Le Gardeur on the prevention and control of hospital-acquired infections. This hospital reduced the rate of MRSA between 55% and 88%. The rate of C.difficile was reduced by 80%. The rate of death was reduced by 71%

 

The class action for the victims of C. difficil will be filed before next fall. Me Jean-Pierre Ménard explained that this class action will request that C.difficil victims receive a fair compensation for the prejudices.

We will update you on this very complex dossier.

 

ADVIN was approached by the company Performix Marketing Inc which offered its services to promote our association increase its membership and find additional funding.

Latest world news

• – 6 states have already voted a legislation to oblige hospitals to declare their rate of hospital-acquired infections. 30 others pressured by insurance companies as well as consumer groups, are evaluating similar bills.  
• The number of articles published by the media throughout the country as well as many recent scientific studies shows a growing concern for the problem. A drastic change must occur for the medical world in their approach to patients” safety of care and security.
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• In Pennsylvania, this bill allowed for the collection of new data revealing that in 2004, there were 115 000 cases of hospital-acquired infections with additional costs of US$2 billion.

• United-Kingdom – Hospitals are now going to be subsidized according to their level of performance in the security of care and their capacity to tackle hospital-acquired infections.

• – a national campaign to promote good hand hygiene was launched in January 2005

• France- Hospitals are now being rated and the results are accessible on the internet. The first rating of all private and public hospitals was published February 6. It is based on the performance in the quality of care and the rate of hospital-acquired infection. Patients associations are officially associated to the battle against hospital-acquired infections.
  

Renewal of membership for 2006

Most of you have already paid your membership for 2006. Those who still have not updated their membership are invited to do so. Send us a cheque of $10 (100, Berlioz #305 – Montreal H3E 1N4). Thank you for your continual support.

Update of our website

We are presently working of restructuring our website so that it will be more user-friendly and accessible to all visitors. Your contribution to our documentation is very welcome. Do not hesitate to send us articles that you might find relevant. Our site gets an average of 4000 visits per month.

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